LA Lakers vs. Utah Jazz: TV Schedule, Live Stream, Spread Info and More
While the Utah Jazz have been solid this season, the Los Angeles Lakers have been playing hot over their last few games, winning four of their last five.
The Jazz have lost four of their last six games and both of the games they played against the Lakers this season. Let’s hope this game is more like the OT thriller instead of the 25-point blowouts we had in their last two meetings.
Where: Energy Solutions Arena, Salt Lake City, UT
When: Saturday, February 4, 9:00 p.m. ET
Watch: Not Nationally Televised
Live Stream: NBA League Pass
Listen: ESPN Radio
Betting Line: Covers.com
Over/Under: 185, Spread: Utah -2
Injuries: CBS Sports
Lakers
Steve Blake, Out
Jazz
Earl Watson, Doubtful
Raja Bell, Questionable
Devin Harris, Probable
Lakers Player to Watch: Kobe Bryant
In two games against the Jazz this season, Kobe is averaging 33 points, over five assists and over six rebounds. Considering that the Lakers won both games, it looks like the catalyst for the Lakers again will be Kobe Bryant. What a surprise.
Jazz Player to Watch: C.J. Miles
With the clear advantage going for the Lakers when it comes to the starters, there is no doubt that the Jazz have the better bench. With the older L.A. starters sitting longer, it will give a bench player like Miles the chance to shine. Expect 15-18 points from the role player when the Jazz need them most.
What They’re Saying
@DodgersLakers talks about this rivalry’s recent matchups:
Pro BMX rider James Foster is reporting that he will be doing the halftime show tonight:
Key Matchup: Al Jefferson vs. Andrew Bynum
I love watching the big men down low fight it out for every inch. Tonight will be a heavyweight battle that should have fans of low-post action on their feet. Al Jefferson is the Jazz duel-threat scorer/rebounder and doesn’t take no for an answer. The unstoppable force to Jefferson’s immovable object is Andrew Bynum. When these two get together, expect a fight for every point and every rebound.
Prediction: Lakers 96, Jazz 88
Check back for more on the National Basketball Association as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s NBA Page to get your fill of all things basketball.
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Surging Clips end 16-game skid in Utah (AP)
Chris Paul scored a season-high 34 points and Blake Griffin added 31 as the Los Angeles Clippers held on for a 107-105 victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night. It was the Clippers’ first win in Salt Lake City since 2003, snapping a string of 16 consecutive losses — including a 108-79 loss in Utah on Jan.
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Jazz spoil Fredette’s return to Utah (AP)
The stage was all set Saturday night for Jimmer Fredette, in a state where “Jimmermania” had taken hold. Instead of draining what could have been a game-winning 3-pointer for Sacramento with 4.2 seconds left, the former Brigham Young star launched an air ball. The Utah Jazz hung on for a 96-93 win over the Kings to snap a two-game losing streak.
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Jimmer Fredette or Utah Jazz? NBA Fans in Utah Are Split
For the first time in his short NBA career, Sacramento Kings rookie Jimmer Fredette will return to Utah to play a regular-season game against the Utah Jazz.
While the once-stronger rivalry between these two teams has long since cooled off, Fredette’s return is one of the most highly anticipated games of the entire season for many fans in Utah.
Already a celebrity in the state of Utah for his college career at Brigham Young University where he became the Naismith College Player of the Year last season, Jimmer, as he is known by only his first name, will split the Jazz fanbase in Utah for at least one game.
Never before has this fanbase been so excited to see a rookie from another NBA team who attended college in the state of Utah.
Not since Andrew Bogut, Keith Van Horn and Andre Miller, all heroes at the University of Utah, came back to play have Jazz fans been excited about a rookie’s return.
The excitement for those players, however, was not nearly at the same level as the Jimmermania that occurred last season, which is still alive and well.
When the two teams meet on the court, it is expected that a large percentage of loyal Jazz fans will have a split allegiance between the Jazz and the Jimmer.
It is not crazy to think that there will be more Jimmer jerseys in the stands than Jazz jerseys and he will receive a louder welcome than anyone from the hometown team.
This topic came up recently on the Utah local sports talk radio station 97.5 The Zone and the feeling from the fans that responded was that many would root for Jimmer over their own team.
Jimmer’s return to Utah is similar to the hype that Tim Tebow had when he and the Denver Broncos played against the Miami Dolphins early last season. That was, however, before Tebow’s popularity took off nationwide.
So what do you think Jazz fans? Are you excited for Jimmer to return? Will he get a better reception than the Jazz, and which side of this issue do you fall on?
Would you be willing to sacrifice a Jazz win to see Jimmer play well?
Leave your thoughts and let me know what you think.
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Alec Burks Deserves to Have Role Expanded for Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz‘s Alec Burks is fearless, an uncommon trait for rookies.
Give Burks a slightly open lane, and he will cut to the rim. It doesn’t matter if there are several tall trees lining the paint, Burks is willing to go after the hoop. Granted, this has led to some easy blocks for opponents, and it may eventually be the demise of Burks if he runs into a surly Andrew Bynum, but for now, it is something Tyrone Corbin and the Jazz should take advantage of.
His attacking style had led Burks to be third on the team in free-throw attempts per game (per 36 minutes played), while he ranks fifth on the team in free-throw shooting (74.2 percent). His knack for attacking the paint is both needed and should be rewarded on a team that is loaded with spot-up shooters in the back court.
Fellow Guards/Small Forwards
Try to think of another guard on Utah’s roster that prefers to get to the rim rather than stop-and-pop from outside. Alright, so there is one other perimeter player that likes to attack the basket as much as Burks, but he is only 6’1” and does his best work leading the team in assists (Sadly, it is not the starting point…not yet at least).
Burks adds a dimension to the Jazz offense that no one else does right now. This is not to say other guards/small forwards on the team cannot take the ball to the hoop. There are flashes of C.J. Miles posterizing Lamar Odom, and Gordon Hayward will occasionally attack the rim, but both Miles and Hayward are getting (too?) comfortable settling for jump shots.
When the outside shots are falling they are obviously effective, but when they are not, it can take players out of the game and make the Jazz’s offense stagnant.
C.J. seems to be much more confident lately and is starting to get into the paint, going 23-of-27 (85.1 percent) from the free-throw line over the last five games, but he still tends to fall in love with his three-pointer.
Raja Bell, the Jazz starting shooting guard who seemed lost on the court in the beginning of the season, has finally found himself. His shooting average of 29.4 percent last month has vastly improved to 50.9 percent this month, including 41.7 percent from three-point land. His resurgence has helped the Jazz to a 9-2 record in January, but like Miles, he is also prone to shooting rather than going after the basket.
Burks’ mindset mixes things up for the Jazz at shooting guard, and that helps the entire team.
The Frontcourt
The Jazz need a diverse set of skills on the floor to keep defenses off-balance.
Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap compliment one another in the frontcourt; while Millsap prefers to face up to the basket to hit jumpers or take his man off the dribble. Jefferson prefers catching the ball down low and using his quick feet to get around opponents, either for dunks or short one-handed tear drops.
If the Jazz get Burks more involved in the offense and he continues to go to the hoop, that will help both of the big men down low. A guard moving toward the basket would set Millsap up for easy 10 to 15-foot jump shots and Jefferson with his signature one-handers when their defenders react. With the defense watching the wings for a slashing Burks, the court opens up for everyone on the floor.
Sure, Burks can improve in many ways, specifically with his passing while cutting to the hoop (he only averages 1.8 assists per 36 minutes), but that will come with being more comfortable on the court. The Jazz need to focus on developing Burks now and make a point to get him into the game more often.
Where those minutes come from is Coach Corbin’s problem, but it is an issue he and the coaching staff should be sorting out as the season progresses.
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Utah Jazz F Favors fined $25,000
Utah Jazz forward Derrick Favors has been fined $25,000 for throwing a ball into the stands during the third quarter of a 94-91 loss Thursday night against Dallas.
The league announced the fine Saturday.
The incident occurred with 24.8 seconds remaining in the third in a physical game that saw four technicals called.
Favors, a second-year pro, acknowledged he lost his cool after getting called for another offensive foul.
Jazz point guard Earl Watson received a technical shortly before Favors’ ejection. Watson was standing up for a teammate when Dallas star Dirk Nowitzki smacked the basketball out of Favors’ hands.
Nowitzki wasn’t penalized for his actions, though he did receive a technical at the end of the first half for spiking the ball hard onto the court.
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If Utah Is Shopping Devin Harris, Are Raptors, Hawks, Heat, Or Lakers Buying?
Devin Harris has been here before, but for how much longer will he be in Utah no one knows.
Over the last week – and even dating back as far as last June’s NBA Draft – Harris’ name has floated about in trade reports with the latest update coming early Friday morning that the Jazz are shopping the starting point guard they acquired last February from the New Jersey Nets in a package deal for Deron Williams.
Now it appears Harris could be on the move again with March 15th’s NBA trade deadline creeping up.
ESPN’s Marc Stein reported Utah has been shopping Harris since the D-League showcase two weeks ago, a reminder that dates back to the 2011 draft when the Jazz used Harris as a bartering chip to no avail.
So why move a young point guard who could help anchor and develop an offense that includes Al Jefferson, Josh Howard, Paul Millsap and the rookie combination of Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter?
It comes down to three factors and even some possible destinations to consider.
…
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Arizona vs. Utah: Solomon Hill Ejected but Wildcats Still Blow Out Utes
Nastiness is a Sean Miller staple. It’s on tape.
That feature was crucial to last year’s sprint into the Elite Eight—well, that and the play of last year’s No. 2 NBA draft pick, Derrick Williams. And that edge is starting to become ingrained yet again in this year’s version.
But this season it’s being brought about by more confrontational means.
Star forward Solomon Hill was ejected in the second half of Arizona’s 77-51 victory over a bad Utah team—which just parted ways with its leading scorer—in Salt Lake City, just under two minutes into the second half.
The 6’6″ forward out of Los Angeles delivered what appeared to be a purposely-thrown elbow (at least in the eyes of the officials) to the back of the head of Utah’s Cedric Martin while the duo battled for position in the lane.
A strange thing happened right after that: Arizona played one its best halves of basketball all year.
When Hill—the team’s leading scorer, rebounder and distributor—was sent to the locker room, the score was 35-30 Arizona.
Just over three minutes later, the game was over.
Miller noted that it wasn’t Hill’s finest night to begin with, but he liked the response from the rest of the lineup (via Arizona Daily Star):
Solomon wasn’t playing well. It’s not as if we lost him on a real good night. He wasn’t having a good night. We’re clearly a better team with him. But in that brief moment when he left, we answered like you’d want a team to answer.
Small forward Kevin Parrom—still playing with bullet fragments lodged in his leg—took full advantage of Hill’s departure, sparking a 20-4 spree with his high-arching three-point stroke, hitting two in the run, while also getting active on the boards.
That outburst extended Arizona’s lead from 35-30 to 55-34, basically ending the night with over 12 minutes to play.
And it wasn’t just Parrom who took over for the absence of the program’s top option.
Nick Johnson, Arizona’s hyper-athletic freshman shooting guard, finally appeared to regain some confidence, hitting three of his four three-point looks.
And Kyle Fogg was as efficient as he’s been all season, going 4-for-7 from the field and totaling 12 points.
The Arizona defense, the program’s main redeeming asset this season, was effective yet again, holding Utah to just 40 percent from field goal range and 25 from beyond the arc.
The story of the night, however, was Hill’s elbow and the aftermath of the incident. It seemed to re-energize Arizona, crisp ball movement suddenly leading to open looks and converted opportunities.
For 18 minutes, Arizona was something it hasn’t been for most of the season: Fun to watch.
Hill is still Arizona’s best player.
His foul may have been out of frustration for having to try to carry this year’s crew at times this season. Miller didn’t seem convinced that the elbow was purposely thrown from the following quotes (Arizona Daily Star), and any future discipline is unknown:
The game’s changed. An incident like that five years ago, there would be no monitor to go to. A few years back it would just be chalked up to physical play. We never want our players to be dirty in any way. So if that’s what happened we’ll deal with Solomon.
I would like to think that it wasn’t a malicious hit. But I have to see it first.
The rest of the rotation cleaned up that blunder and dominated an out-manned Utah squad (the worst team in the Pac-12, and it’s not close) for the duration.
Coming on the heels of Arizona’s skirmish with Oregon State in overtime last Thursday, when a tussle between Fogg and Jared Cunningham led to a shoving match, Arizona seems to have taken on a new, if sometimes ill-advised, toughness.
Finally.
Arizona plays Colorado (which is 10-1 at home) on Saturday, with a chance to climb back into the Pac-12 title hunt. They might have to do it without Hill, given any potential penalty for the incident.
Still, their edge may be their edge.
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Utah dismisses guard Josh Watkins from team
Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak has dismissed point guard Josh “Jiggy” Watkins for an undisclosed team rules violation.
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Krystkowiak dismisses Watkins from Utah (AP)
Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak has dismissed point guard Josh “Jiggy” Watkins for an undisclosed team rules violation. Krystkowiak made the announcement Wednesday, saying he could not sacrifice the integrity of the program for one individual. He had suspended Watkins earlier in the season for three days and one game, and subsequently had implemented a “zero tolerance” rule for…
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